Defense Against a Pointed or Edged Weapon: It will be Awful, and you will Probably Die.

Inevitably, people who practice techniques in their martial arts schools are led to believe that with plenty of practice in static, convenient circumstances that the techniques they learn will prepare them for anything that may come to them in life. They feel satisfied because they may be awarded a rank or a belt of some color.

What they fail to understand sometimes is the intent of the teaching, as basic as it might seem, right from the beginning. The student may not realize the difference among things like practicing a specific technique versus applying a principle of defense in a life/death situation. A teacher’s accomplishment in bolstering a pupil’s self-esteem with a rank or belt color might just be enough to get a student killed because they feel they’ve been inundated with awesome self-defense abilities.

About knives. Kitchen knives are awful. Long, sharp (maybe), but usually pointy. And just about everyone has them, just like box cutters, letter openers, pencils, pens. All of them can become weapons used to slash and stab, and when used against the human body, they cut veins, arteries, muscles and nerves. They also puncture, causing blood loss, sucking chest wounds, lung collapse and heart/artery destruction.

Unfortunately, many martial arts teachers attempt to teach knife defense in the classroom without considering the actual energy and intent of an attacker, and shame on them. Can you picture yourself in a situation in which you’ve chosen to lift a knife and decided to hurt or kill another person? Probably not, but what would it take? Rage? Defending a loved one? These things are all fuel for the person holding the knife. SOMETHING has pushed them to this point, and rationality is out the window. To pick up an edged weapon and use it against another human being is a sign of either desperation or cold, strong calculation. Whatever it was that pushed the aggressor to that end, you are in peril.

Hopefully you’ll see early on why the static teachings just don’t work.

I’ve selected a few videos that offer what I think are some valid points and illustrations on the subject:

This last video is not for the squeamish. Raw footage of reality with fatalities. Got a gun? NEVER think of it as a shield against an edged or pointed weapon.

So please, PLEASE be aware that a casual approach to knife defense is an exercise in futility. There’s really no defense other than evade and escape whenever possible. If trapped, you will probably die.

Some help might come from a teacher, but most of the ability to survive comes from the individual.